The fate of Universiti Sains Malaysia student who has been arrested for his Facebook message "threatening" to bomb the helicopter which ferried Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to Nibong Tebal, is still in limbo.

Penang police chief Ayub Yaacob said the task force was awaiting response from the social networking site and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) before they could proceed with the case.

Ayub said the USM student was currently under police bail and that several witnesses have already been questioned about the incident.

The fourth-year student is based in the university's branch campus in Nibong Tebal and was given police permission to sit for his final examinations.

The 24-year-old student was arrested on Jan 15 following a report lodged at the Jelutong police station in which a screenshot of the Facebook posting was appended.

Although the student has admitted to having posted the controversial message on his Facebook page, Ayub said the case needed to be investigated further.

The engineering student, whose father is a member of a uniformed group, is being investigated for criminal intimidation under Section 506 of the Penal Code.

He told police his Facebook posting was merely a joke, but Ayub considers the matter "serious" as it involved the country's prime minister.

'He's innocent until proven guilty'

"I would like to complete the case by tomorrow but we are still awaiting responses from the two organisations," said Ayub, when met after the launching of the NKRA-Rakan Remaja Kop two-day carnival event at the weekend.

"But in a week or two, we may complete our report and submit it to the relevant authorities to decide what to do with the case," he added.

Meanwhile, Ayub warned against any party labelling the student as guilty before the case is fully wrapped up.

"Even if he is in the lock-up, we should not say he is guilty because he has not been tried yet. Whether he is guilty or not is up to the court to decide after his trial, if any," he added.

When asked about his recommendation on what action would be taken against the student, Ayub declined to comment beyond saying "we do not know yet".

However, he argued that such offences should not be let off easily as others may do the same in the future.

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